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Rewire : digital cosmopolitans in the age of connection

In an age of connection supercharged by the Internet, we often assume that more people online means a smaller, more cosmopolitan world. In reality, it is easier to ship bottles of water from Fiji to Atlanta than it is to get news from Tokyo to New York. In Rewire Ethan Zuckerman draws on contemporary research in psychology, sociology and his own work on how humans "flock together" to explain why the technological ability to reach someone does not inevitably lead to increased connection. For those who seek a wider picture - a picture now critical for global success - Zuckerman highlights the challenges and the headway already made by attempts to bridge cultures through translation, cross-cultural inspiration and the search for new, serendipitous experience. Rewire offers a map of the innovations needed to more tightly connect the world.Read more...

Details

Connection, infection, inspiration --
Imaginary cosmopolitanism --
When what you know is whom you know rewire --
Global voices --
Found in translation --
Taken in context --
Serendipity and the city the wider world --
The connected shall inherit.

Responsibility:

Ethan Zuckerman.

Abstract:

A rousing call to action for those who would be citizens of the world-online and off.Read more...

Reviews

Editorial reviews

Publisher Synopsis

"One of our most important books on globalization." -- Steve O'Keefe - New York Journal of Books "Ethan Zuckerman is the real deal, a thinker and activist brilliantly connected to what's really happening on the Internet on a genuinely global basis. For those who think the digital era gives them all the information they need, Rewire shows them how much more there is to learn." -- Craig Newmark, founder, craigslist and craigconnects "No one is in a better position than MIT and Harvard's Ethan Zuckerman to confront the Internet's failure to connect us across cultures. Zuckerman's astounding range, careful reasoning, and superb storytelling make Rewire an essential and urgent read." -- David Weinberger, author of Too Big to Know "Weaving a rich tapestry of stories, data, and theories, Rewire challenges many of our core assumptions about globalization and connectedness and how the Internet affects us. It is a book well worth reading." -- Yochai Benkler, author of The Penguin and the Leviathan and The Wealth of Networks "A compelling account of an intertwined global world, Ethan Zuckerman's Rewire makes you fall in love with a wide range of cultural practices and peoples. As he explains the importance of understanding not just how information flows but also how people connect, he lays a foundation for rethinking what global citizenship can and should be." -- danah boyd, Microsoft Research "Ethan Zuckerman is a true cosmopolitan, a citizen of the universe. In Rewire, he describes how our new communications tools allow us to take part in a truly global conversation and why almost none of us actually take advantage of that opportunity." -- Clay Shirky, author of Cognitive Surplus and Here Comes EverybodyRead more...